Low-key deadline: Last days of the window are unlikely to be busy for Preston

With just three days left to do business, the Lilywhites look likely to limit themselves to the one arrival – Emil Riis who joined from Danish side Randers earlier in the month.

The only change to that stance would be if they got a big offer for one of the squad and needed to go out and buy a replacement.

Riis’ signing took the squad up to the 25-man limit for senior players – clubs can have as many players aged under 21 as they want.

That number doesn’t include David Nugent who hasn’t been training with PNE as he looks for a new club.

Owner’s representative Peter Ridsdale said: “In terms of incoming I don’t expect anything to happen unless something happened with outgoings – I’m not currently anticipating that.

“We have to register a 25-man squad and with Emil Riis we have 25 in the squad.

“If something was to happen with a bid coming in of such a magnitude where we had to accept it or the player involved said he wanted to go, then clearly we would have to see whether we could replace that individual.

“The closer to 5pm on Friday that is, the harder it would be to replace and the easier it would be to say no to any offer we got.”

The transfer window has been a quiet one for PNE.

Riis arrived in time to make his debut as a substitute in the 4-2 win at Brentford.

He’s been on international duty since with Denmark’s Under-21s and is due back later in the week ahead of Sunday’s clash with Cardiff.

On the outgoing front, PNE have loaned out Josh Ginnelly, Ethan Walker, Jack Baxter and Joe Rodwell-Grant.

Ginnelly is with Hearts for the season, Walker at Carlisle, while Baxter and Rodwell-Grant are both at Chorley.

There was a blow for Walker yesterday, with the news he will have to undergo surgery on his shoulder.

The 18-year-old winger dislocated his shoulder in Carlisle’s EFL Trophy defeat at Sunderland last week.

Carlisle’s head physio Ross Goodwin told the Cumbrian club’s website: “Ethan fell last week at the Sunderland game and put his shoulder out.

“He’s had it previously at Preston, and he’s now gone back to Preston before he goes for surgery this weekend.

“Ethan is out for the foreseeable. You’re probably looking at three months.

“He’s got instability in his shoulder, he needs to stabilise it or it will end up as a long-term problem.

“He dislocated it a year ago and dislocated again last week. He’s a young boy so if it doesn’t get fixed now he’s going to have problems forever, basically.”